What's in a name
by runaway-run
Summary: Sodapop's little kid complains about his name. Soda explains its meaning to him. One-shot; sort of companion to my other two stories "Right side of wrong" and "Lost without each other"


I got this idea for a story and I wrote it quickly. It's nothing special, I'm not that happy with the way it came out, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Hope you all like it at least a little! It's also a sort of companion to my other two stories _The right side of wrong _and _Lost without each other_, but you don't need to read them to get this one. 

Disclaimer: obviously, I don't own Sodapop.

What's in a name 

Sodapop got home late that day. _Too much work, too little time_, he thought as he took off the shoes and called out to his family: "I'm home!"

"Daddy!" His youngest son came running and jumped into his arms. "You never come home!" he protested, in his little four year old voice.

"I know, baby, one of the horses was sick and the doctor couldn't come earlier, I had to wait…" he explained.

"Is the horse alright now?" Typical of little Valentine, always worrying about the others, especially animals.

"He'll be." Soda grinned and kissed the top of the little boy's head. "Where's mom and your brother?"

"In the kitchen trying to keep your dinner warm." Soda's wife, Sybil, entered the room and kissed his cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Where's Jesse James?"

"He's in his room. He says he isn't feeling well but I think something's happened at school, only he won't tell me what. I'm sure he'd tell _you_ though." She smiled and her face lit up and Soda remembered once again how much he loved her, and the kids.

"I'll go talk to him. Dinner can wait."

Sodapop went upstairs and entered the room his two sons shared. "Hey, Jesse. Mom said you ain't well, is it true?"

Jesse James was lying in bed and when he heard his father's voice he turned to look at him. Soda noticed he'd been crying. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Nothing." The six year old sobbed. "My stomach hurts."

Everyone in the family knew that was Jesse James' usual excuse when he didn't want to admit what was really wrong. Soda ruffled his kid's blond hair affectionately and insisted: "You know you can tell me everything. You got problems at school?" Soda couldn't see how that was possible, seeing Jesse James was only in the first grade and he'd only been going for about a month or so but he asked anyway.

For some reason, the little boy seemed to break down and started talking: "I don't like those kids at school!"

"Why don't you like them?"

"Cause they don't like me!"

"Okay, then, why don't they like you?"

"It's not all of them, it's just some, but they are mean to me."

Soda waited for him to go on. When he didn't, he asked: "What did they do to you?"

It took a lot of convincing for Jesse James to tell him, but then he finally gave up and exclaimed: "They make fun of my name! They say it's stupid and it sounds girlish and… and they say it's the name of a bad guy who's dead now because the police killed him for stealing cows!"

Sodapop almost laughed. The kids at Jesse's school obviously had the story all wrong. "You want to know why your mom and I gave you that name?" The boy nodded. Soda went on. "Okay then, I'm gonna tell you the real story of the man we named you after. First of, he was a cowboy. You dig cowboys, don't you?"

Jesse James nodded. "They're tuff."

Soda grinned. "See, that's one good thing already. Jesse James lived many, many years ago, and he wasn't a bad man, but he was an outlaw… do you know what that means?" He nodded. "He was an outlaw not because he was really a bad person… he became one in order to survive, to help his friends and family. There are many stories about him, he has become a legend now, no one knows for sure. But your mom read a book to me once, it was written by Jesse James' son, and it spoke of that man in a different way. It spoke about the man that loved his wife, his kids, his country, and would do anything to protect them." Soda smiled. "We chose to believe that version of the story. So we named you after that outlaw, believing he was a good man. A man who helped his people and the ones close to him. A man who was betrayed by one of his so called friends and became a legend because he had done many good things in his life."

"So the kids at my school don't know the real story!"

"No one knows. But you sure don't have anything to be ashamed of. We wanted to give you an original name, that's what some of the kids at school are really jealous of."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. You've got it good, Jesse, just wait till you're older and every girl loves you."

"Girls?" Jesse James made a face. "Eww!"

Soda laughed. "I know you don't like them now, but believe me, you will."

"Do cowboys have girls?"

"Sometimes."

"Well I'm gonna be a cowboy with no girls! I'm gonna ride horses and Val can come with me." He added: "You and mom can come too if you wanna."

Soda grinned at his son's thoughtful offer. "Maybe. C'mon, let's go downstairs!"

Jesse James ran and entered the kitchen: "Val! Guess what!"

"What?" Valentine was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking some juice.

"I'm named after the greatest cowboy ever! Dad said so!"

Soda looked at Sybil and smiled: "Looks like his stomach-ache's gone!"

While Soda ate his dinner, he and Sybil listened to the kids talk excitedly about the outlaw Jesse James. Valentine seemed fascinated by his brother's story, which he'd embellished a little.

"What about my name?" he asked, staring at his parents. "Who am I named after?"

Sodapop and Sybil looked at each other. She could read it in his eyes:_You tell him, I just spoke to Jesse._ She smiled and started explaining.


End file.
